The present invention relates to communications networks such as cable television, satellite television and computer networks over which services are available for a fee, and more particularly to a method and system for allowing data and multimedia services to be purchased over such networks.
Cable and satellite television networks where video services are available for a fee are well known. Also well known are computer network services such as the Internet, America On-Line, Compuserve and others having web sites with different types of applications ranging from general information to entertainment to electronic shopping, all of which can be accessed for a fixed monthly fee. In the past, cable and satellite television networks have provided individual television services on an impulse purchase basis. Such xe2x80x9cimpulse pay-per-viewxe2x80x9d (IPPV) services include television movies or special sports events in which a viewer can order a service upon payment of a fee.
The provision of pay-per-view services is desirable from a consumer""s standpoint since the consumer need only pay for those services which are desired and offered at times that the consumer is able to enjoy them. The success of pay-per-view services, whether they be movie or sports events, has prompted system operators and programmers to consider additional types of services to be offered using the pay-per-view approach.
One outgrowth of the pay-per-view approach would be the ability to offer services based on data and multimedia applications. Such services may include, without limitation, games or information accompanying the television programming, home-shopping, e-mail services, and the like. In order to provide such services, acceptable security measures must be implemented. In the subscription television field, such as satellite and cable television, security is provided using conditional access (CA) techniques.
It would be advantageous to extend television IPPV conditional access to services based on new applications. It would be particularly advantageous to extend such conditional access without requiring a new infrastructure to support these features, i.e., by providing simple extensions to already deployed systems. It would be further advantageous to enable subscriber terminals, such as set-top boxes previously used solely for video IPPV services, to provide xe2x80x9cimpulse pay per usexe2x80x9d (IPPU) services for applications other than video or accompanying the video.
The present invention provides methods and Systems having the aforementioned and other advantages.
A method and system are provided for allowing secure impulse pay-per-use (IPPU) services to be obtained over a communication network.
In a simplified embodiment, a subscriber IPPU selection is sent by a subscriber (e.g., via telephone in the case of call-ahead entitlement or via the subscriber terminal in the case of pre-authorized entitlement) to an access controller. The access controller generates an encrypted message having a service identifier and associated authorization settings related to the subscriber IPPU selection, which encrypted message is then sent from the access controller to the subscriber terminal, together with the cost of the IPPU service selected by the subscriber. The subscriber terminal verifies that the cost of the IPPU selection is within a credit entitlement of the subscriber. If such verification is successful, the subscriber terminal generates a secure entitlement token for use by a client application residing in the subscriber terminal. The entitlement token may alternatively be generated by the access controller and forwarded to the subscriber terminal. The client application will then send the entitlement token to a server (e.g., a proxy/policy server) in a secure manner in order to determine the status of the subscriber""s entitlement to receive the IPPU selection. If the subscriber""s entitlement to receive the IPPU selection is verified, the server will further process the IPPU selection for further enabling the selected service/application for use by the viewer.
The server can be an independent Internet Service Provider (ISP) proxy/policy server, an ISP proxy/policy server affiliated with a Multiple System Cable Operators"" (MSO) or other Network Operators"" (NO) proxy/policy/policy server, an Network Operator proxy/policy/policy server, or the like.
In an alternate embodiment, the IPPU selection is first sent to a customer response center (CRC)/billing system, which in turn forwards the IPPU selection to the access controller. The billing system bills the subscriber for the IPPU selection.
In the case of a xe2x80x9cCyber CRCxe2x80x9d configuration, where communications are provided over a global communication network (e.g. the Internet) or the like, the subscriber IPPU selection can be sent to the CRC/billing system via a web browser running at the subscriber terminal and a web server at the billing system.
As part of the communication with the access controller, the billing system can actuate the access controller to add the service referred to by the subscriber IPPU selection, which is a separate process from that which tells the access controller which subscribers are entitled to access the service.
The term xe2x80x9cbilling systemxe2x80x9d as used herein, as well known in the industry, is much broader than just a billing computer. Generally, the billing system refers to the business system that runs the Network Operator operation, and includes functions such as billing, system configuration and business operations.
In an alternate embodiment, the secure entitlement token is a signed and encrypted entitlement token, which signed and encrypted entitlement token is securely sent from the client application to the server for authentication and decryption. The entitlement token may be encrypted using, for example, the subscriber""s private key. The proxy/policy server can then use the subscriber""s public key to decrypt the entitlement token. Alternatively, the token may be encrypted using Data Encryption Standard (DES) techniques symmetric key encryption, and sent along with the DES key which is encrypted using a public key associated with the server (DES is an encryption standard which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,593). The server then uses its private key to decrypt the DES key and uses the decrypted DES key to decrypt the token. The entitlement token may be generated at the access controller or at the subscriber terminal.
In a further embodiment, the service identifier is associated with one or more service related codes and data objects which are sent periodically from the access controller to the subscriber terminal.
The access controller may be a local access controller or a national access controller.
The IPPU services may consist of accessing certain cites, streaming media from the sites, downloading multimedia applications from the sites, accessing content resident on the sites, shopping, email, video mail, or the like.
The subscriber terminal may be a cable television set-top box, a digital television or host with point of deployment capability, a personal computer, or the like.
In an alternate embodiment, the subscriber IPPU selection is pre-authorized at the subscriber terminal for a predetermined credit amount. Pre-authorization for IPPU allows a subscriber to request authorization locally (e.g., in the subscriber terminal). The subscriber terminal can subtract the cost associated with the subscriber IPPU selection from the credit amount.
To protect against repudiation of the IPPU selection, the subscriber terminal can securely report the subscriber IPPU selection back to the access controller.
Corresponding methods and systems are provided.